From simple mechanical repetition to complex intelligent decision-making, industrial automation
services are quietly reshaping every corner of factories.
Amid the global wave of industrial digital transformation and upgrading, industrial automation has
become a critical strategy for enterprises to navigate market competition, enhance operational efficiency,
and reduce business costs.
As the demographic dividend fades and labor costs rise, manufacturing's demand for automated
equipment continues to grow, propelling industrial automation technologies and services forward.
01 The Automation Industry Value Chain: An Integrated Ecosystem
of Hardware and Software
Industrial automation extends beyond machines and equipment—it constitutes a comprehensive ecosystem
composed of multiple elements. This system operates in a top-down, interconnected manner, collectively
advancing the intelligent transformation of industrial production.
The automation industry value chain can be divided into two major segments: upstream and downstream.
The upstream segment comprises the hardware components and software tools required to support automated
devices and applications.
Hardware components include sensors, controllers, and human-machine interfaces (HMIs). Sensors monitor
real-time parameters such as temperature, pressure, humidity, light, and position within automation systems,
providing accurate data support.
Controllers receive input signals from sensors, compute based on predefined programs, and generate
corresponding control commands. HMIs facilitate interactive communication between operators and machinery.
Software tools encompass computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE), computer-aided
manufacturing (CAM), and data analysis/visualization tools. These tools serve distinct functions within industrial
design and manufacturing workflows, collectively supporting the entire product design, analysis,
and manufacturing process.
The downstream segment encompasses suppliers ranging from robotics and automated equipment to
information systems and integrated solutions, along with service providers offering system integration,
consulting, and deployment services for implementing these hardware/software systems and solutions
within enterprises.
02 The Evolution of Automation Services: From Maintenance
Support to Management Services
Modern automation services have evolved from traditional passive models to proactive contemporary
service forms. Their content, characteristics, structure, and appearance have undergone significant
transformation.
Maintenance services have progressed from single-machine and hardware fault repair to scheduled, predictive
maintenance, integrated maintenance, and remote diagnostics with call response. Maintenance providers
have also evolved from individual product suppliers to integrated service providers.
System services have evolved from equipment packages to comprehensive solutions, while application
services have advanced from basic commissioning to complex engineering services encompassing design,
integrated commissioning, startup, handover, and training.
Optimization services are divided into hardware and software components, initially focusing on hardware
upgrades followed by software optimization. This progression stems from automation technology's inherent
characteristics of high technicality, specialization, diversity, and integration.
Management services emerged as a necessity following the widespread adoption of DCS and PLC systems.
The pervasive and expansive nature of automation development has made digital-to-information management feasible.
Particularly in the discrete manufacturing sector, the technological “convergence” of industrial automation
and informatization will significantly elevate the importance of management within automation applications.
03 Strategic Value of Industrial Automation Services
Industrial automation services play an increasingly vital role in enterprise operations, their value extending
far beyond traditional equipment maintenance.
These services integrate advanced technologies and software solutions across all processes in manufacturing,
quality control, maintenance, and other industrial operations. Their objective is to enhance operational efficiency
and productivity while reducing labor and equipment maintenance costs.
By minimizing opportunities for error, enterprises can reduce downtime to the lowest possible levels. This
enhanced reliability significantly accelerates manufacturing processes.
Implementing these services enables enterprises to adopt more precise and faster machinery capable of
continuous operation. This translates to faster production times, fewer defects, and higher-quality products.
For industrial automation service providers, system integration and distribution businesses complement each
other, creating synergistic effects. Distribution channels help providers expand their channel footprint and build
a customer base for system integration development;
System integration also enhances providers' market recognition, boosts product sales, and increases user retention.
04 Industry Development Trends: Intelligence, Integration,
and Digitalization
With continuous technological advancement, industrial automation services are rapidly evolving toward intelligence,
integration, and digitalization.
Intelligence encompasses both machine intelligence and the automation of intellectual labor. On one hand, industrial
automation instruments, equipment, and systems adopt modern scientific and technological methods such as artificial
intelligence, robotics, and knowledge engineering to endow machines or systems with certain human-like intelligence.
On the other hand, intelligent systems replace or augment human intellectual labor, achieving automation of mental
work. The new generation of industrial automation is intelligent automation.
Integration refers to two aspects: First, it denotes the technology of next-generation industrial automation systems,
which synthesizes multiple disciplines and technologies such as opto-mechatronics, information technology, system
control technology, and artificial intelligence.
Second, it signifies that modern industrial automation systems integrate enterprise production control, operations,
and management, consolidating isolated single-machine systems, dispersed units, and functional software into a
comprehensive integrated system.
Digitalization, driven by advancements in control computer communications and networking technologies, is rapidly
expanding the scope of information exchange and communication across all levels—from the field device layer in
factories to control and management systems.
The widespread adoption of fieldbus technology, coupled with the seamless integration of internet technologies,
enterprise intranets, extranets, and industrial automation technologies, is propelling future industrial automation
systems toward open, networked, integrated control and management systems.
05 Challenges and Future Outlook
Despite the promising outlook for the industrial automation services market, several challenges persist. A critical
challenge is the shortage of high-end technical talent.
As a technology-intensive sector, industrial automation demands substantial numbers of highly skilled professionals
with specialized knowledge and technical capabilities. Cultivating and retaining such talent is crucial for the industry's
sustainable development.
Compared to leading international enterprises, Chinese automation companies still lag in engineering capabilities,
experience, and brand recognition. Additionally, improvements are needed in hardware and software technical
foundations, R&D capabilities, quality, and reliability.
Overseas automation services are shifting from hardware to software, whereas China's current automation services
remain hardware-centric with software as a supplement; product services dominate, with management services
playing a secondary role.
Moving forward, Chinese automation enterprises should focus on timely and reasonably compensated existing
services while striving to expand incremental services. They should enhance their solution-providing and system
integration capabilities, leverage their strengths, and forge a distinctive path aligned with the developmental stage
and national conditions of China's automation industry and application sectors.
According to research institutions, the global automation market reached $233.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to
grow to approximately $569.2 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.31% from 2025
to 2034.
Benefiting from the mature adoption of emerging technologies such as smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence,
the Internet of Things, and machine learning, automation applications are expanding beyond traditional
manufacturing into diverse fields including logistics, healthcare, and energy.